RT-Thread Vision board review – Part 1: OpenMV on Renesas RA8D1 Cortex-M85 microcontroller

RT-Thread VIsion board vs WeAct STM32H743

I am always interested in real-time operating systems (RTOS) for microcontrollers (MCUs) with my past backgrounds in µC/OS-II, mbed, and FreeRTOS. When the opportunity arose to get my hands on the RT-Thread Vision Board, thanks to the RT-Thread team and CNX Software, I was excited to check it out. This board, a collaboration between RT-Thread and Renesas, packs a powerful Renesas RA8D1 Cortex-M85 MCU and comes pre-loaded with OpenMV firmware. OpenMV’s MicroPython engine lets you jump right into embedded vision development, perfect for experimenting with computer vision tasks. But the real power lies in RT-Thread’s ability to handle tasks very quickly, which we’ll explore with C/C++ development in part two. This first part will focus on getting you familiar with the hardware using the OpenMV firmware, making it a smooth entry point for beginners. Plus, I have a collection of other Renesas evaluation boards, so you can bet I’ll be […]

SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra Review – eWelink app, Matter Bridge, Turbo Mode for extended range, and Home Assistant

SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra Review

We have received two more Zigbee smart home products from ITEAD to review. It appears that SONOFF has strategically introduced a variety of Zigbee devices in the first half of this year. The first one we will be reviewing is the SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra, which we believe will eventually replace the Zigbee Bridge (2020) and Zigbee Bridge Pro (2022) and comes with additional features, such as being a Matter Bridge. The second device we’ve received is the SONOFF Micro Zigbee USB Adapter for which we’ll post a review in the next few days, But first, let’s dive into the SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra review. Overview SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra (Ultra for short and also called SONOFF ZBBridge-U) is a multi-functional device. Compared to its predecessor, the Zigbee Bridge Pro, the Ultra shows big improvements in features and hardware specs. It boasts a much more powerful chip (Rockship RV1109 vs. […]

LattePanda Mu review – Part 1: an Intel N100 Compute Module tested with Windows 11, carrier boards with PCIe slots

LattePanda Mu Full Carrier Windows 11 Review

Last April, DFRobot launched the LattePanda Mu x86 Compute Module powered by an Intel N100 Alder-Lake processor with 8GB RAM and a 64GB eMMC flash along with Lite and Full function carrier boards for evaluation. End customers will typically design their own carrier board without having to take of high-speed signals for the LPDDR5 memory and other complexities during the PCB layout. DFRobot has sent us the LattePanda Mu module for review along with the Lite and Full Function carrier boards, a heatsink for passive cooling, and an active cooler so we can compare both cooling solutions.  Let’s have a look at the LattePanda Mu module and accessories before testing the kit with the Windows 11 operating system, including the PCIe x4 slot. LattePanda Mu kit unboxing The parcel included three retail boxes. The smallest box housed the LattePanda Mu Compute Module, a heatsink, and an active cooler. The second […]

ACEBOTT QE007 review – An ESP32-based Smart Home STEAM education kit for 8+ years old kids

QE007 ESP32 Smart Home Starter Kit Review

ACEBOTT QE007 ESP32-based Smart Home Starter Kit is a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Maths) education platform that involves story reading, assembling a wooden house with various electronics sensors wired to an ESP32 board, and learning about electronics concepts (such as voltage and current) and coding with the Arduino IDE through an 18 lesson course. ACEBOTT has various STEAM education kits, and the company sent us the QE007 “IoT Smart Home Starter Kit” for evaluation and review. So I’ll go through an unboxing, report my experience with the assembly process, and the Arduino tutorials by going through some of the eighteen lessons. ACEBOTT QE007 unboxing The kit comes in a nice-looking retail that reads “ACEBOTT Explorer Series QE007” and “ACEBOTT IOT Smart Home Started Kit”. The front of the package also highlights its a STEAM education kit designed for 8+ years old kids. The bottom side gives the backstory […]

GEEKOM A8 Review – Part 2: An AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS mini PC tested with Windows 11 Pro

GEEKOM A8 mini PC Review Windows11 Pro

In the first part of the review, we’ve already gone through a teardown and an unboxing of the GEEKOM A8 AI mini PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor with AMD Radeon 780M Graphics, 32GB RAM (upgradeable up to 64GB) and a 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD. We’ve now had more time to play with the GEEKOM A8, so we will report our experience with the Windows 11 Pro operating system in the second part of the review testing features, running benchmarks, evaluating networking and storage performance, testing the thermal design, and taking measurements for fan noise and power consumption. Software overview and features testing The System->About window in the Settings confirms we have an A8 Mini PC powered by a 4.0 GHz (base frequency) AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor with Radeon 780M Graphics and 32GB of RAM running Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 22631.3593. HWiNFO64 provides more details […]

TOOCAA L2 Review – A fully enclosed 20W laser engraver & cutter with a focus on safety

TOOCAA L2 review 20W laser engraver cutter

TOOCAA L2 is a fully enclosed laser engraver and cutter with a 10W or 20W laser module using orange acrylic covers and various sensors for additional safety. The laser module complies with Class 1 Laser Safety certification and the engraving and cutting machine works with a range of materials suitable for creators who want to cut or/and carve workpieces or manufacture high-resolution parts. The company sent us a sample of the TOOCAA L2 with a 20W laser model, an air assist pump, a honeycomb plate, and a few consumables for review. We’ll first go through an unboxing of all items and assembly, before testing the laser engraver and cutter under various scenarios. TOOCAA L2 unboxing The review kit we received includes three packages from TOOCAA. Each package contains various components. with foam drilled into shape to support each part and right-angled cardboard along all four corners of the package to […]

Radxa Fogwise Airbox edge AI box review – Part 1: Specifications, teardown, and first try

Radxa Fogwise Airbox review

Radxa Fogwise Airbox, also known as Fogwise BM168M, is an edge AI box powered by a SOPHON BM1684X Arm SoC with a built-in 32 TOPS TPU and a VPU capable of handling the decoding of up to 32 HD video streams. The device is equipped with 16GB LPDDR4x RAM and a 64GB eMMC flash and features two gigabit Ethernet RJ45 jacks, a few USB ports, a speaker, and more. Radxa sent us a sample for evaluation. We’ll start the Radxa Fogwise Airbox review by checking out the specifications and the hardware with an unboxing and a teardown, before testing various AI workloads with Tensorflow and/or other frameworks in the second part of the review. Radxa Fogwise Airbox specifications The specifications below come from the product page as of May 30, 2024: SoC – SOPHON SG2300x CPU – Octa-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor up to 2.3 GHz VPU Decoding of up to […]

ODROID-H4 Plus review – Part 2: Intel N97 NAS Kit and fanless SBC tested in Ubuntu 24.04

ODROID-H4 Plus Ubuntu 24.04 review

In the first part of the ODROID-H4+ kit review, I checked out the hardware and showed how to install the Intel N97 SBC into the H4 Type 3 case taking up to four 2.5-inch SATA drives. I’ve now had time to test the ODROID-H4 Plus with Ubuntu 24.04 both as an actively cooled NAS kit and a fanless SBC and will report benchmark results, 2.5GbE and storage test results, 4K and 8K YouTube video playback capability, check IBECC memory support, measure power consumption, and more in the second part of the review. Ubuntu 24.04 installation on ODROID-H4 Plus The ODROID-H4 Plus SBC does not come with any preinstalled OS since there’s no storage by default, so I installed Ubuntu 24.04 on the 128GB M.2 NVMe SSD I inserted into the board. The installation went relatively smoothly, but in hindsight, I would have probably installed the OS before installing the SBC […]

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UP 7000 x86 SBC